It is essential to start enteral nutrition early to preterm infants by giving small amounts of milk (preferably human milk) to ensure that metabolic homeostasis is kept stable and to limit postnatal growth retardation. Increasing feeding volumes to reach "full enteral feeding" is limited by individual feeding tolerance. Feeding intolerance is extremely common in premature infants. The most frequent signs of a suspect feeding intolerance are the presence of gastric residuals, abdominal distension and the onset of crises of apnea/bradycardia. Gastric residuals are probably a benign consequence of delayed gut maturation and motility in VLBW infants and there are no established normal standards. When gastric aspirates occur isolated they should not immediately induce the neonatologist to withhold feeding. Gastric residual becomes more important when accompanied by other warning signs, such as bilious vomiting, abdominal distension, abdominal wall erythema or ecchymosis, gross or occult blood in the stool, apnoea, bradycardia and temperature instability. Nutrition protocols in preterm infants must take caution when starting and increasing enteral feeding, and pay proper, but not excessive, attention to early signs of food intolerance.

Septic shock, occurring in about 1% of neonates hospitalized in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), is a major cause of death in the neonatal period. In the 1980s and 90s, exchange transfusion (ET) was reported by some authors to be effective in the treatment of neonatal sepsis and septic shock. The main aim of this retrospective study was to compare the mortality rate of neonates with septic shock treated only with standard care therapy (ScT group) with the mortality rate of those treated with ScT and ET (ET group). All neonates with septic shock admitted to our NICU from 2005 to 2015 were included in the study. Overall, 101/9030 (1.1%) neonates had septic shock. Fifty neonates out of 101 (49.5%) received one or more ETs. The mortality rate was 36% in the ET group and 51% in the ScT group (p = 0.16). At multivariate logistic regression analysis, controlling for potentially confounding factors significantly associated with death (gestational age, serum lactate, inotropic drugs, oligoanuria), ET showed a marked protective effect (Odds Ratio 0.21, 95% Confidence Interval: 0.06–0.71; p = 0.01). The lack of observed adverse events should encourage the use of this procedure in the treatment of neonates with septic shock.

Background: Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection is the most frequent non-genetic cause of sensorineural hearing-loss (SNHL) (i.e., hearing loss due to a cochlear and/or auditory nerve damage). It is widely accepted that SNHL at birth, when associated to cCMV symptomatic infection involving the central nervous system, benefits from antiviral therapy started in the neonatal period. Conversely, there is no consensus for antiviral treatment in congenitally infected infants diagnosed with isolated SNHL (i.e., SNHL in an otherwise asymptomatic infant) at birth. Our aim was to assess the frequency and the auditory outcome of isolated SNHL at birth due to auditory neuropathy (AN) (i.e., SNHL in a patient with normal cochlear function and auditory nerve dysfunction) in infants with cCMV infection. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical history of 60 infants, born at term, with cCMV asymptomatic infection, without additional risk factors for SNHL, and exhibiting bilateral "pass" otoacustic emissions (OAE). None of them underwent antiviral therapy. Hearing thresholds were assessed by means of Auditory Brainstem Responses (ABR). AN affected children were followed up until possible normalization of the hearing thresholds or definitive diagnosis of AN. Each infant diagnosed with monolateral or bilateral AN was classified according to the worst ear threshold. Results: In our population, the first ABR was performed at a mean age of 5.00 ± 2.79 (SD) months and AN was diagnosed in 16/60 (26.67%) infants; in 4 infants the AN was defined as mild (4/4 monolateral), moderate in 11 (5/ 11 bilateral), and severe in 1 (bilateral). The mean age at first ABR was 3.69 ± 2.80 (SD) months in the 16 babies with AN and 5.48 ± 2.66 (SD) months in the 44 infants with normal hearing (p = 0.007). All AN cases spontaneously recovered a normal auditory threshold over time. The mean length of the audiological follow-up was 32.44 ± 17.58 (SD) months (range 5-60 months). Conclusion: A delayed maturation of the auditory pathways should be considered when a mild/moderate isolated AN at birth is detected in cCMV infected infants. Prospective studies conducted on larger populations, and with a longer audiological follow-up, are needed to confirm our findings.

Currently, there is no evidence whether ganciclovir, or its oral prodrug valganciclovir, penetrates into the cerebrospinal fluid of human infants treated for congenital cytomegalovirus infection. Here, we report a case study providing evidence that ganciclovir, administered as valganciclovir, reaches the infant’s cerebrospinal fluid when used at the currently recommended dose for congenital cytomegalovirus infection.

The updated Guidelines on Prevention of Perinatal Group B Streptococcal Disease, issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, actually represent the mainstay in the prevention of neonatal early-onset group B streptococcal (GBS) sepsis. According to these guidelines, patients with possible preterm delivery are screened for GBS colonization and offered intrapartum prophylaxis only if they enter preterm labor or experience preterm premature rupture of the membranes. Nonetheless, the fulfillment of these recommendations seems to be suboptimal in clinical practice, as it is heavily influenced by the knowledge of the colonization status. We report here 2 cases of blood culture-proven, early-onset neonatal GBS sepsis involving preterm infants delivered by mothers who had midtrimester cervical insufficiency and bulging membranes. Midtrimester acute cervical insufficiency strongly predicts preterm delivery. These women are liable to miss intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis because they typically have shorter labor, and the test results for GBS status are unlikely to be available before delivery. We believe that women with midtrimester cervical insufficiency and bulging membranes should be screened for GBS infection soon after hospital admittance if the gestational age is close to the threshold of fetal viability. A timely diagnosis of GBS colonization may not only increase the number of patients receiving targeted intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis but would also allow consideration of the administration of antepartum antibiotic prophylaxis. Indeed, as further outlined in this report, GBS intraamniotic infection may dramatically occur before the onset of preterm labor or preterm premature rupture of the membranes.

Early onset sepsis (EOS) is a severe problem affecting very low birth weight (VLBW) infants and is associated with a threefold increased risk of mortality. Although advances in perinatal care have led to improved survival of VLBW infants over recent decades, survival without major neonatal morbidity has not increased. The authors reviewed the current literature on EOS, focusing on the peculiarities concerning risk factors, etiology, diagnosis, treatment and outcome in very low birth weight infants, and on the recent advances in the management of this condition.

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